Why is my dog so anxious ?
Discussion
Afternoon all
Hope someone can help me.
I have a 9 year old Shar Pei who is an excellent dog. Very docile and friendly and wouldn't hurt a fly.
Over the past year when the family head out he must sense it and starts crying and barks when we leave, and it used to be for 5 minutes or so.
Now for the past 3-4 months he's got much worse. He starts shaking when he cries and barks/cries for much longer when we leave.
Today my partner went out to the local shops (for half hour or so) and when she approached the house he was still barking. When she got in the house he'd been clawing at the carpet near the door so much that his paws were bleeding and stained the carpet.
My partner is a stay at home mum and we have another on the way and she's finding it hard to leave him as he gets so bad when she leaves the house.
As much as we love him he's starting to dictate when and how long we go out and it's making life hell. So much so that we're thinking of re-homing him, but that is of course a last resort.
What can we try to stop him acting like this? We give him treats as we leave, try being really nice and have even shouted at him, hoping he'll listen.
I must add he is virtually blind, but has been for much longer than this has been going on and we've been in this property for 5 years so he knows his way round the place, so I don't think it's that.
Any suggestions? It'd break my heart to see him go!
Thanks in advance
Hope someone can help me.
I have a 9 year old Shar Pei who is an excellent dog. Very docile and friendly and wouldn't hurt a fly.
Over the past year when the family head out he must sense it and starts crying and barks when we leave, and it used to be for 5 minutes or so.
Now for the past 3-4 months he's got much worse. He starts shaking when he cries and barks/cries for much longer when we leave.
Today my partner went out to the local shops (for half hour or so) and when she approached the house he was still barking. When she got in the house he'd been clawing at the carpet near the door so much that his paws were bleeding and stained the carpet.
My partner is a stay at home mum and we have another on the way and she's finding it hard to leave him as he gets so bad when she leaves the house.
As much as we love him he's starting to dictate when and how long we go out and it's making life hell. So much so that we're thinking of re-homing him, but that is of course a last resort.
What can we try to stop him acting like this? We give him treats as we leave, try being really nice and have even shouted at him, hoping he'll listen.
I must add he is virtually blind, but has been for much longer than this has been going on and we've been in this property for 5 years so he knows his way round the place, so I don't think it's that.
Any suggestions? It'd break my heart to see him go!
Thanks in advance
Not sure if any of this will help but maybe worth a look.
Seperation Anxiety is not nice for you or your dog. I hope you get it sorted.
http://www.dogseparationanxietyhelp.com/
Seperation Anxiety is not nice for you or your dog. I hope you get it sorted.
http://www.dogseparationanxietyhelp.com/
Sounds like separation anxiety to me. One of my dogs had this problem when she was younger but has totally overcome it now.
There are LOTS of different helpful tips on separation anxiety and a lot of it will be trying out to see what works best for you and your dog.
I haven't got a lot of time to write down as much as I know right now but didn't want to read and run. Here's a couple of things off the top of my head
1) Don't make a big fuss when you go out, dog needs to realise it isn't an occasion, mum and dad go out and come back, no big deal
2) Leave dog alone in one room for very short periods of time and build this up, so start with 30 seconds alone and increase this by 30 seconds periodically and so on
3) Don't greet dog immediately when you get home, this buys into making outings an 'event'
4) Ignore bad behaviour such as destructive behaviour but praise dog when they have coped well with being alone
5) If you're worried about him hurting himself consider crate training. This is not putting your dog in a cage and leaving him from day dot, it's making the crate a positive, safe place for the dog that he wants to be in. Leave the door open at first then shut the dog in for small amounts of time, eventually dog will be happy to be left locked in while you're out. Nothing can be destroyed and dog cannot hurt himself, but please make it a nice safe haven for dog first by positive association i.e. meal time in crate, play in crate etc etc
6) How much exercise does the dog have? If some dogs are left not feeling stimulated enough their minds will turn to other things, exercise is a good way to tire him out and may well help keep his mind active on positive things
7) Leave dog with stimulation like toys, especially kongs which can be stuffed with food then frozen. The frozen stuffing should keep the dog occupied for quite some time, but the mental stimulation is a positive action
Sorry if this isn't written in my best, like I said running a bit short on time but feel free to PM me if you need any more help or advice. There's also lots of help available on the net if you google 'separation anxiety', alternatively your vet or a behaviourist could help. Please think long and hard about the last resort of rehoming him, he is an older dog and unlikely to be taken into a new home for that reason, let alone if he was rehomed as a dog with 'issues'. Sep. anxiety can be overcome, and you are the best person to do this. Hth
There are LOTS of different helpful tips on separation anxiety and a lot of it will be trying out to see what works best for you and your dog.
I haven't got a lot of time to write down as much as I know right now but didn't want to read and run. Here's a couple of things off the top of my head
1) Don't make a big fuss when you go out, dog needs to realise it isn't an occasion, mum and dad go out and come back, no big deal
2) Leave dog alone in one room for very short periods of time and build this up, so start with 30 seconds alone and increase this by 30 seconds periodically and so on
3) Don't greet dog immediately when you get home, this buys into making outings an 'event'
4) Ignore bad behaviour such as destructive behaviour but praise dog when they have coped well with being alone
5) If you're worried about him hurting himself consider crate training. This is not putting your dog in a cage and leaving him from day dot, it's making the crate a positive, safe place for the dog that he wants to be in. Leave the door open at first then shut the dog in for small amounts of time, eventually dog will be happy to be left locked in while you're out. Nothing can be destroyed and dog cannot hurt himself, but please make it a nice safe haven for dog first by positive association i.e. meal time in crate, play in crate etc etc
6) How much exercise does the dog have? If some dogs are left not feeling stimulated enough their minds will turn to other things, exercise is a good way to tire him out and may well help keep his mind active on positive things
7) Leave dog with stimulation like toys, especially kongs which can be stuffed with food then frozen. The frozen stuffing should keep the dog occupied for quite some time, but the mental stimulation is a positive action
Sorry if this isn't written in my best, like I said running a bit short on time but feel free to PM me if you need any more help or advice. There's also lots of help available on the net if you google 'separation anxiety', alternatively your vet or a behaviourist could help. Please think long and hard about the last resort of rehoming him, he is an older dog and unlikely to be taken into a new home for that reason, let alone if he was rehomed as a dog with 'issues'. Sep. anxiety can be overcome, and you are the best person to do this. Hth
I had a Staffie who I used to take to work with me everyday. The problem this caused was he became my adjoined twin and couldn't be left alone (unless with someone he knew).
Separation anxiety is what it turned out to be - even leaving him with a trained professional, he chewed his way out!
Separation anxiety is what it turned out to be - even leaving him with a trained professional, he chewed his way out!
Great advice thanks
I might get a kong for him so he's distracted when we leave the house. On another forum I posted on, someone also suggested the radio left on and also an alarm clock that tick tocks.
I've also heard about a DAP pheromone diffuser can help some way to calm him down. Anyone got experience in these? I don't expect it to be a miracle and shut him up on it's own but maybe make him a bit easier to leave with some other practices in place.
Me and the missus are arguing about all this quite a bit at the moment. Need to nip it in the bud asap
I might get a kong for him so he's distracted when we leave the house. On another forum I posted on, someone also suggested the radio left on and also an alarm clock that tick tocks.
I've also heard about a DAP pheromone diffuser can help some way to calm him down. Anyone got experience in these? I don't expect it to be a miracle and shut him up on it's own but maybe make him a bit easier to leave with some other practices in place.
Me and the missus are arguing about all this quite a bit at the moment. Need to nip it in the bud asap
DeanR32 said:
Great advice thanks
I might get a kong for him so he's distracted when we leave the house. On another forum I posted on, someone also suggested the radio left on and also an alarm clock that tick tocks.
I've also heard about a DAP pheromone diffuser can help some way to calm him down. Anyone got experience in these? I don't expect it to be a miracle and shut him up on it's own but maybe make him a bit easier to leave with some other practices in place.
Me and the missus are arguing about all this quite a bit at the moment. Need to nip it in the bud asap
DAP diffusers can help, but should only be used as additional help, not a solution in themselves.I might get a kong for him so he's distracted when we leave the house. On another forum I posted on, someone also suggested the radio left on and also an alarm clock that tick tocks.
I've also heard about a DAP pheromone diffuser can help some way to calm him down. Anyone got experience in these? I don't expect it to be a miracle and shut him up on it's own but maybe make him a bit easier to leave with some other practices in place.
Me and the missus are arguing about all this quite a bit at the moment. Need to nip it in the bud asap
Your best bet is to employ ALL of the techniques you've been given so far. What can make the biggest difference to cases of S.A. is the dog-owner relationship and to look at in greater detail the smaller nuances that make up the time when you are together.
If you're still struggling let me know as I can direct you into safe hands.
Nick
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